This invention relates to an improved apparatus for preparing a popped corn snack food popularly call "kettle corn." Frontiersmen and early settlers prepared popped corn in iron kettles placed over open wood fires. Later, such crude equipment and methods were modified by popped corn vendors who mounted kettle-like popping receptacles upon wagons and carts for movement along city streets and sidewalks. Descriptions of the structural and operational features of early portable poppers are contained in these prior U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ 1,449,687 Marfisi March 27, 1923 1,457,854 Parks June 05, 1923 1,464,567 French August 14, 1923 1,594,190 Barnard July 27, 1926 ______________________________________
Typically, these popper structures comprised a wheeled cabinet upon which were mounted a tiltable corn popping kettle, a popped corn storage receptacle proximate the kettle, and a fuel burner disposed below the kettle. Commonly, such burners were fueled with pressurized gasoline or kerosene vapor; however, later poppers having similar structural arrangements were provided with electric heater units such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,117,872 issued to Barnard on May 17, 1938.
In more recent times, the carts of street vendors of popped corn have been replaced by sophisticated, highly efficient popping machines commonly encountered in theater lobbies, snack bars and fast-food stores. Moreover, consumers can now purchase sealed packages of popped corn in a variety of flavors; and, corn kernels can be popped at home by means of microwave ovens or specialized hot air appliances. In spite of these dramatic changes in methods and means for popping corn, a vestige of "old time" corn popping has been preserved through the years by certain vendors who pop corn in large metal kettles over an open flame. Such vendors tout their kettle corn as having a special flavor and texture imparted to the popped corn by preparing it in accordance with "old time" methods in an outdoor setting where freshly popped corn is immediately sold and consumed. Today, kettle corn vendors can be found at outdoor events such as pioneer festivals, community commemorative events, fairs, markets, exhibitions of antiquated crafts, and a variety of outdoor sports events.
Vendors who reproduce the original kettle corn flavor and demonstrate faithfully pioneer kettle popping procedures use a kettle much larger than those disclosed in the aforecited U.S. Patents in order to retain exploding kernels within a kettle which typically has no lid or similar top closure. Moreover, it is desirable that the kettle top remains open so that the appetizing aroma and characteristic sound of popping corn can better escape the kettle to entice potential customers. A sizeable, open top kettle also enables a vendor to pop large batches of corn while continuously monitoring the popping process and agitating the mass of popping kernels with a rustic pole or paddle which carries out a back-country theme.
Due to the considerable size of a preferred popping kettle and the common use of iron and steel to fabricate such kettles, their bulk and weight make them inherently difficult to transport from place to place and to support vertically above a heat source. Besides the problems encountered in transporting and positioning heavy kettles, emptying a hot kettle of a mass of popped corn can be an arduous task. To forestall overcooking or burning of popped kernels, the preparer had to empty the kettle quickly by scooping the kernels over the edge of the kettle into another receptacle all the while avoiding personal contact with the heat source under the kettle and the hot surface of the kettle itself.
Heretofore the aforenoted multiple problems of transporting, supporting and emptying a weighty old-style popping kettle have been somewhat alleviated by situating the bowl-like kettle inside a box-like cabinet with the top of the kettle opening upwardly through the top of the cabinet. The kettle is attached to and suspended from the top of the cabinet with the kettle bottom hanging above a fuel burner mounted inside the cabinet. The cabinet top is manually pivotable about one edge in a manner which permits the preparer to dump the contents of the kettle into a suitable receptacle disposed outside the cabinet. Normally, a frame defining the bottom of the cabinet rested directly upon an underlying ground surface. The cabinet was movable from one popping site to another by lifting both the cabinet and the kettle contained therein and transporting them manually or by means of a hand truck, or the like, inserted under the bottom edge of the cabinet. Handling the aggregate weight and bulk of the cabinet and kettle by such a lifting and moving operation comprised a laborious task particularly over uneven or sloping surfaces.
Another problem entailed in popping large quantities of popcorn in a large kettle over an open flame involves management not only of the flame, but also of the substantial volume of combustion products and heated air created by burning a sufficient quantity of fuel to achieve and maintain the required popping temperature of about 400.degree. F. for a prolonged period of time. Most of the abovecited prior U.S. patents depict open flame poppers supported on various cabinet structures from which flame and hot gases created inside the cabinets are vented upwardly through the open cabinet top about the upstanding sidewall of the popping kettle. Contemporary kettle corn poppers also involve such venting of flame and gas directly through the open top of the box-like cabinet which suspends the kettle over the flame. This upward flow of hot gases produces unwanted heating of the upper wall portion of the kettle as well as the cabinet structure surrounding and supporting the top of the kettle. Unless great care is taken, such flow of hot gas about the periphery of the kettle during popping may cause injury to the vendor as he attempts to stir the kernels in the kettle to assure even and complete popping. Should the popping kettle be situated inside a tent or similar structure or shaded by an awning, uncontrolled upward venting of hot gases could create a fire hazard.
Another significant shortcoming of previously known kettle poppers is the lack of an efficient means for handling a large mass of popped corn. After popping is completed, the popped corn is dumped from the hot kettle by tipping the top frame of the cabinet together with the kettle which is usually secured to this frame. Such manual tipping of the hot kettle can be difficult and dangerous; therefore, various auxiliary devices, including components such as gears and counterbalancing springs, have been incorporated in contemporary kettle poppers to assist the preparer in tipping the kettle. Such devices have proven to be cumbersome, complicated, and largely ineffective.
Since a popping kettle is capable of producing very large individual batches of popped corn and since multiple batches are often prepared in rapid succession to accommodate a rush of customers, a large receptacle able to hold several batches is usually placed proximate the popping kettle. Popped corn is then manually scooped from this holding receptacle and bagged as needed. Usually, the holding receptacle, which may comprise a second metal vessel is not structurally associated with the frame which supports the kettle but is, instead, placed directly on the ground or on another stand at one side of the kettle. Since the holding vessel is not coupled directly to the kettle frame, it is subject to accidental dumping or shifting out of alignment with a stream of popped corn as it empties from the kettle.
The foregoing recitation of the shortcomings of kettle-type corn popping components and methods suggests that several changes in popper construction and organization are needed to provide a comprehensive apparatus which exhibits the operational convenience and efficiency required by those whose business is preparing and vending kettle corn, namely:
The popping kettle and its supporting frame or cabinet should be readily movable from place to place yet be highly stable once moved. PA1 The upward emission of flame and hot gases from the popper should be contained and directed so as to reduce or eliminate the chance of injury to vendors conducting the popping operation, to customers who approach the popper cabinet, and to combustible materials disposed proximate the popper cabinet. PA1 After a batch of corn is popped, the kettle should be conveniently tiltable over an edge of the popper cabinet in a quick and easy manner to dump successively popped batches into a suitable vessel. PA1 The vessel for receiving and holding popped corn dumped from the popping kettle should have a volume substantially greater than the kettle; and, the vessel should be detachably coupled to the frame of the cabinet at the correct height and angular alignment with respect to the kettle for receipt of the kettle contents. PA1 Provision of substantial degree of mobility for such a relatively heavy structural combination; PA1 Provision of an improved process and means for producing and vending large quantities of freshly prepared popcorn; and, PA1 Reduction to a minimum of the hazards and discomfort unavoidably attending the preparation of popped corn over an open flame.